It is well known that most patients who have undergone any form of serious surgery must keep the area of the surgical incision dry for an extended period of time until the incision adequately heals. Getting water on a surgical incision slows the process of scar tissue formation and healing. Additionally, water can carry significant amounts of bacteria to the incision which can cause infection. This is particularly true in the case of bath and shower water wherein the water runs over other parts of the patient's body prior to contacting an incision.
Therefore it has been the uncomfortable experience of many surgical patients to have to forego normal bathing for a week or more after surgery.
In recognition of this problem, the prior art has produced protective covers usable for certain surgical patients to allow showering. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,494 to Nusbaum discloses a rectangular sheet like material with overlapping ends sealable with a hook and eye type fastener such as Velcro. The upper edge of the sheet is attached to a flexible rubber rod of circular cross section. At one extreme of the rod, it is reduced to a smaller cross section, and at the other extreme of the rod, it is bored out to accept the portion of smaller cross section.
In essence, the device disclosed in Nusbaum U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,494 is a rectangular wrap-around skirt with a rubberized seal in the waistband. It is disclosed as particularly useful for allowing colostomy patients to shower.
There is also considerable prior art in the general field of waterproof garments. Most waterproof garments for general use assume that a hat or umbrella will be provided to protect the head and neck area. One example of a waterproof garment having a side opening and what appears to be a relatively tight collar is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 570,081 to Beech. However, the garment shown in Beech has a side opening which extends from the bottom of the garment up to the area approximate one of the wearer's armpits and then in a curvilinear path from that point up to the center of the neck. Therefore, this garment must be put on in a manner using body motions of the same type that are normally used to put on any jacket.
Patients who have undergone thoracic surgery, such as open heart surgery, are subject to severely limited arm movements for a significant period of time after the surgery. The thoracic incision for heart surgery involves a major incision in the center of one's chest and separation of one or more ribs from the sternum. Therefore, any movement of the arms to any position in which the arm is raised, or tends to be swung toward the patient's back, is extremely painful (if at all possible) after such surgery. Therefore any protective garment for a patient having thoracic surgery is impractical if it requires the patient to raise his or her arms to any significant degree and move one or the other arms in a backward direction, such as the normal motion of the arms encountered as one puts on a conventional jacket.
Lying in the hospital, in an extreme amount pain without the ability to wash is a difficult experience for most people of western culture who are used to daily bathing as a part of their basic hygienic routine. Many people, particularly women, become extremely uncomfortable if they are unable to wash their hair for several days. It is well known that the ability to wash at least one's face and hair has a beneficial impact on many people's frame of mind and can make an unpleasant stay in a hospital recovering from major surgery more pleasant than it is under normal circumstances.
The protective article shown in the Nusbaum U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,494, discussed above, is impractical for protecting a thoracic incision. It is clear from inspection of the device that it is impractical to wrap it around one's neck. If the Nusbaum device were wrapped securely around a patient's chest just under their armpits, the normal cleavage on the human chest which lies at the sternum between the pectoral muscles would tend to channel water directly down the area of the chest over the sternum, directly to the location of the thoracic incision. In other words, an attempt to use the Nusbaum article to allow a patient with a thoracic incision to shower would tend to channel water directly on to the incision which should be kept dry. This problem could be exacerbated in the case of a woman as water would tend to run to the cleavage between a woman's breasts. However, the slightly depressed area between the pectoral muscles at the sternum on a line drawn between a human's armpits is a feature of men and women, and results primarily from the nature of the muscle structure on the ventral side of the human thorax.
Therefore, there is a need for a practical water resistant garment usable by patients who have undergone thoracic surgery to allow them to shower so that the face and hair may be washed. This need must be met by a practical garment which keeps water off of the patient's sternum during showering. Additionally, such a garment should be constructed so that it may be put on and taken off by the patient without the need to raise one's arms or more them toward his or her back. Generally speaking, the garment should be one which may be put on and taken off by the patient, with the assistance of another, with minimum required arm movement. Assistance may be obtained in washing the hair and face once the patient is able to enter the shower.